liver disease. He has published more than 160 papers and book chapters. He is a member of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) an editor of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers and a former editor of CHEST and is a reviewer for many journals, including CHEST, the American Journal of Respiratory and Molecular Cell Biology, Hepatology, the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of Clinical Investigation and the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Robert Bals Robert Bals studied medicine and biology at the Ludwig- Maximilian University Munich (Munich, Germany). He obtained doctoral degrees in both areas and worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA, USA). Back in Germany, he continued his career as physician–scientist with board certifications in internal medicine, pulmonology, intensive care medicine, allergology, emergency medicine and sleep medicine. After spending 10 years at the Philipps University Marburg (Marburg, Germany), he was appointed director of the Saarland University’s Department of Pulmonology, where he focuses on teaching, research and patient care. In the research area, he covers preclinical and clinical research, and has contributed to 250 papers and several books. His research areas are inflammatory lung disease, asthma, COPD and infection. In the basic science laboratory, Robert Bals and his team investigate how the lung interacts with the environment. including smoke, allergens and microorganisms. with a focus on stem cell biology and regeneration. In clinical research, he performs investigations in COPD, asthma, pneumonia and cystic fibrosis. Robert Bals established and manages the German AAT Registry and is member of the steering committee of COSYCONET. Robert Bals is a former Chief Editor of the ERS Monograph. viii https://doi.org/10.1183/2312508X.10026719